Wheeling, W. Va. - The last time the Wheeling University Men's Soccer team (3-2, 2-2) took the field, things didn't go their way as they fell to Notre Dame College 7-0. They return home to Bishop Schmitt Field this weekend looking for a bounce-back when they host Gannon University in Non-Conference action at 1 PM.
Notre Dame College got two early goals in the 15th and 20th minutes of the game, but the Cardinals held them off the board the rest of the way and went into halftime, trailing 2-0. However, the second half of the game is where it got out of hand as the Falcons scored five unanswered goals over the final 45 minutes of the game to take the 7-0 win. Wheeling was outshot in the game 19-5 and put just two shots on goal compared to five shots for the Falcons.
Leading the offensive attack by putting the only two shots on goal during the day was sophomore Sam Clark (Henley-On-Thames, United Kingdom/Gillotts). Clark came off the bench and led the way with two shots, both on goal while playing 36 minutes in the game. The other three shots in the game were taken by TJ Cherry (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-LaSalle HS), Hugo Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain/Colegio San Buenaventura), and Salem Mwela (Lusaka, Zambia/Rhodes Park School), but none of those shots fell on goal.
The loss dropped the men to 2-2 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play and dropped them to sixth place in the conference standings. Saturday's non-conference game is a chance to get back on track before they end the season with 11 straight conference games. Wheeling is a perfect 3-0 at home this season, and they are hoping that being back on their home field will be enough to get their momentum going in the right direction again.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Golden Nights have matched up eight times dating back to the 2002 season, and Wheeling has had the advantage going 5-3 in those games. The two teams have split the last five games of the series, but Wheeling is undefeated against Gannon at home. They are averaging 2.5 goals per game in those four home contests and have scored at least three goals in three of those four games.
The last match-up between the teams came on October 26th, 2013, in a game Wheeling won 3-1. Former Cardinal Luke Roan got the scoring started in that game in the 19th minute, and Wheeling went into halftime leading by that score. The Cardinals added two more goals in the 66th and 81st minutes by former Cardinals Jordan Frommeyer and George Noubossie to secure the 3-1 victory.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday's Men's Soccer game is scheduled for 1 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field. You can get tickets to the game by clicking HERE, watch the live stream by clicking HERE, or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
